


Yeah, Alright.

by CaptainErica



Category: Big Bang (Band), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, coffee shop AU, there be weird things afoot here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 13:44:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8058616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainErica/pseuds/CaptainErica
Summary: The little coffee shop on the corner received maybe one or two completely new visitors a day; all of them always came back.





	

The cafe on the corner of the street, just two doors down from Jiyong’s apartment building, is small and unobtrusive. It has two floors, which makes finding seating easy, and it is always quiet. Not once has Jiyong entered the cafe to  find it overflowing with loud teenagers or boisterous college students, though both groups (he knew) frequented the place. He doesn’t go in often, but he vows to change that starting today.

Today is an important day, because today is the day that he has decided to set aside time to  _ plan _ . 

Arming himself with a notebook, planner, and a pile of pens and pencils, he makes his way from his apartment to the cafe. He feels pleased with his progress, as it’s been awhile since he’s been so prepared for  _ anything _ . He walks in with an air of confidence that he’s perfected over the years but that he doesn’t feel very deeply. He’s young but not near as carefree as he  _ should be _ and not near as careful as he  _ needs _ to be. 

“What can I get for you?” The young man behind the counter asks. Jiyong pauses, his confidence slipping briefly as he isn’t prepared for the question yet.

“Ah, coffee.” He says vaguely, and then his eyes land on the bake case and he gestures a little vaguely toward it. “And a...muffin.” He says. The man behind the counter doesn’t ask him  _ what kind _ of coffee or muffin he wants, and he’s kind of relieved by that.

“Take a seat, I’ll bring it up for you.” The man says, and Jiyong nods. He leaves the proper amount of money on the counter and heads quickly for the stairs.

It takes barely any time for the man to bring him his coffee and muffin, and Jiyong murmurs his thanks with his head dipped low and his fingers curled slightly into his palms. Once he’s alone he breathes out and back in and then finishes arranging his notebook and planner on the table with his food.

He’s been planning and writing for  _ hours _ , his head bent and the pen practically dancing across the pages before him, when he hears someone clear their throat beside him. He pauses mid-word and he has to blink to get himself into a conversational mode.

“Yes?” He says as politely but disdainfully as he can muster. It’s a natural thing for him, luckily. When his eyes land on who had interrupted him, however, his mask almost slips: smiling brightly and eagerly is one of the most beautiful men Jiyong has ever laid eyes on.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” He says, and he truly does sound sorry. “But you’ve been sitting like that for a few hours and I just…” The man trails off and shrugs, looking a little sheepish. “I just wanted to know what you were up to.” He sounds just as sheepish as he looks, and Jiyong assumes he must have realized how dumb that sounded out loud.

The look on his own face probably didn’t help. He controls his features into a more pleasant blank slate, and nods. “Writing.” He offers, and the man’s smile brightens at the admission. “I’ve been trying to plan…” He trails off, a light blush covering his cheeks and he looks away from the bright face before him. 

“I’m Youngbae.” The man says, offering his hand up to shake. Jiyong only now realizes that the man ( _ Youngbae _ ) is leaning over from the table next to his and must be uncomfortable.

“Jiyong.” He murmurs in response, and Youngbae’s smile grows somehow brighter.

“I’m here often, you know.” Youngbae says conversationally after they shake hands. “I’ve just started my last year at the college nearby.” He nods vaguely in the direction of the college, and Jiyong nods. 

“I wouldn’t have thought you were so old.” Jiyong says, and then a look of horror crosses his face as he realizes what he’s just said.

Youngbae, for his part, looks entirely more amused than he really should be. “I’ve always thought I looked rather young.” He says a little proudly, and Jiyong laughs nervously. “How about you?” He asks eagerly, and Jiyong feels himself open up just a little.

“Same as you.” He says, and Youngbae grins.

“How have I never seen you before?” He asks, and Jiyong shrugs; he knows why but he doesn’t really want to get into it.

“I’ll let you get back to your planning. Are you a literary major?” he asks, and Jiyong almost laughs because  _ more questions _ is the opposite of letting him get back to what he’s doing.

“Yes, I am, and you?” He asks, and Youngbae shrugs.

“Business and languages.”

Jiyong’s brows furrow downward. “You can major in  _ languages _ ?” 

Youngbae shrugs. “Why not? ‘Seize the day’ and all that.” His eyes crinkle up into a grin, and Jiyong laughs.

“I’ll accept that.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was something weird about the cafe, but Jiyong couldn’t figure out what it was. He went almost every day, for various lengths of time and at wildly different times of day, and the place always seemed to have the same amount of people in it. Or, maybe it just always had the same  _ feel _ about it. He couldn’t be sure, but no matter what: there was something weird going on and he didn’t understand it.

But he kept going. It had been 3 months since he’d sat down with a coffee, a muffin, and a plan, and he had kept up this routine beautifully. It also helped his routine, he supposed, that sometimes Youngbae came to the cafe. He wasn’t as regular as Jiyong was, but he came just often enough that he normally walked through the doors hoping that that day might be a  _ Youngbae day _ .

They had no classes in common, barely seemed to have  _ anything _ in common on the outside, but there was something about Youngbae that made it hard for Jiyong to ever get tired of seeing him. They liked the same music and had both learned to dance as young children. They laughed at each other’s dumb jokes and could be silent (this was hardest for Youngbae) for hours at a time with no awkwardness.

Time moves differently, Jiyong decides one morning in mid-November. He’s got no classes that day and he’s sat in his usual spot on the second floor. The silent but ever-present ‘man-behind-the-counter’ had just dropped off his muffin and coffee, but he’s not interested right now. He’s staring out the window, contemplating the way the wind moves between the branches of the small trees outside.

He’s not sure how long he’s been looking out the window when he hears the chair opposite him scrape back against the floor, and a hand is placed gently on his arm.

“Good morning.” Youngbae says, a sweet smile on his face. Jiyong turns toward him slowly, his face still a little absent and distracted. 

“Good morning.” He murmurs, and Youngbae flushes. The reaction is strange, Jiyong thinks, but he doesn’t comment. He nods toward Youngbae’s bag instead. “Going to study today?” He asks, his voice becoming more sure as he speaks, his mind returning to the present and focusing on Youngbae.

Youngbae shakes his head. “Not really.” He says, biting his lip for a second before reaching into his bag to pull out a notebook. “I’m in the mood to draw today.” He explains and Jiyong nods, tilting his head to the side.

“I didn’t know you drew.” He says, and Youngbae flushes again, but he seems to fight through it to give Jiyong an amused look.

“When I’m not studying in here I’m usually drawing.” He says, and it’s Jiyong’s turn to flush red. He’d noticed, of course, but he’d forgotten and now he felt stupid.

“Right.  _ Right _ . I knew that.” Jiyong says, his eyes lowering to the table between them. Youngbae chuckles softly, shaking his head.

“It’s alright, you’re a little lost this morning, I can tell.” He taps his nose and then flips open his notebook, a pencil held loosely in his hand. “I won’t bother you anymore for now.” He says, his confidence clearly back in full force as he grins broadly at Jiyong before looking down at his notebook.

“I don’t mind.” Jiyong mutters, a little put out that Youngbae seemed to know him so well when he often forgot  _ obvious _ things about Youngbae. 

When Youngbae’s silent for a little while, his eyes and pencil roaming over the paper in front of him, Jiyong turns back to the window, pulling his computer up into his lap. He had a lot of things he  _ could _ write, he thinks as he pulls his planner closer to him on the table. He moves his coffee and muffin to the windowsill beside him so that he has more room, and then looks through the planner.

He had only one paper due in the next few weeks, but he’s bored of the subject and almost finished with it anyway. He flips to his notes, and runs his finger down the list of stories he’d either started writing or had just thought about. He taps on a few of them, his fingers drumming against the list as he tries to decide on what he wants to do.

He feels Youngbae’s eyes on him, but he doesn’t look up, trying to force himself to concentrate through it. He drags his finger up and down the list a few more times before stopping on one of the stories he’d already started. It’s about the ocean and fate, he recalls, his mind wandering in that direction as he pulls open the document. 

He reads over what he’s written, his mind whirring to catch up with where he’d left the story off. He’s so immersed in the story that he doesn’t notice when he’s finished his coffee. He pulls himself out of his zone when he hears Youngbae laughing softly. He turns toward him, blinking slowly.

“What?” He asks, his tongue coming out to wet his lower lip. He feels a little anxiety trickle in, but Youngbae shakes his head, and he starts to relax.

“You finished your coffee like 20 minutes ago.” He explains, his eyes pulling up into amused crescents. “And have picked it up at least 5 times to take a sip, only to be disappointed that it’s empty; every single time.” 

Jiyong blushes, but smiles just a little. “I guess I wasn’t paying attention.” He says, turning his head away. Youngbae chuckles softly,  _ fondly _ . 

“Do you want another?” He asks, and Jiyong looks up at him, his eyes big and his mouth incapable of working. Youngbae smiles, standing up and stretching before leaning forward to ruffle Jiyong’s hair. “Of course you do. I’ll be right back.”

He tries to tell Youngbae  _ no _ but he can’t because Youngbae turns around and heads for the stairs before he can get his mouth to work. He bites his lip and looks down at his lap, fighting a smile; no one’s ever offered to buy him something before.  _ Youngbae’s never offered to buy him something _ . He feels himself start to blush and he forces himself to get back into his story so that he doesn’t make himself uncomfortable.

~

Youngbae walks slowly up the last few steps to the second floor, two cups in his hands; a tea for himself and a coffee for Jiyong. He smiles suddenly, proud of himself for not stuttering out the offer like he’d thought he would. Jiyong got embarrassed easily, and he didn’t want to make him uncomfortable; but he really wanted to do something for him.

Jiyong had done a  _ lot _ for him, whether he knew it or not. He’d been there, steady and calming, when Youngbae needed someone to quietly hold him up. He’d tolerated his moods when no one else that Youngbae knew could even stand to be around him for even a few minutes. Jiyong had given him so much…

He pauses when he reaches the table, his eyes taking in the scene before him. Jiyong had returned to writing in his absence, his feet tucked under him on the bench under the window and his laptop on his lap. He had his tongue sticking out as he typed, and the empty coffee mug that he’d kept picking up only to put down with a disappointed sigh was on the far end of the table. Youngbae’s mouth quirks up into a smile when he sees that and he snorts out a soft laugh.

Taking in a deep breath, he forces himself to keep going, and sets his tea down before leaning forward and putting down Jiyong’s coffee and tapping him lightly on the elbow. “Here you go.” He says softly, and Jiyong looks down at the coffee then up at him a little blankly for a moment, before a bright smile crosses his face. 

“Thank you!” He says, picking the cup up excitedly and taking a small sip before placing it on the windowsill.

“You’re welcome.” Youngbae says, his face heating up. Jiyong turns away, though, his eyes returning to the screen before him.

Youngbae sits down and pulls out his sketchbook, flipping to the drawing he’d left off on most recently. He looks up at Jiyong briefly, his eyes trailing along the curve of his neck as it runs up into his jaw, before looking back down; he’d almost gotten it right. He taps his pencil against his leg for a moment, trying to decide how best to fix it.

***

The little coffee shop on the corner received maybe one or two completely new visitors a day; all of them always came back. 

It’s small, or maybe it’s large, and the atmosphere is quiet and muted….or is it vibrant and lively? Everything is old wood and vintage...or, wait, is it polished and modern? 

It’s different for almost everyone who comes in, truthfully. The feeling is the same, though; calming, comforting,  _ right _ .

The man behind the counter, with a forgettable face and a normal, average voice, is always working. There is never a day when he isn’t on duty. For some orders he’ll hand deliver it, for others he’ll kindly ask you to step over to the pick up station and wait for it to be finished. There’s never anyone in line behind you, and he always seems to know what you want and when you want it.

Great things happened to those who came back. They met partners, siblings, pets, old family members and friends. They made great business decisions and they brokered huge deals.

The man behind the counter congratulate them all on their accomplishments, which seemed to take so much time but also none at all. As though the hours spent in the cafe meant little in the outside world. One could safely assume that these accomplishments were in some way  _ helped along _ by the cafe and the man behind the counter; one would be right if one were to do so.

The man behind the counter had his sights set on two young men in particular now: one an aspiring author and the other a talented linguist with a thirst to prove himself. Both talented, both a little shy, both looking for someone to accept them as they are…

They were perfect for each other. 

The man behind the counter smiles as he asks Youngbae to wait while he gets the drinks ready, his hard work slowly starting to pay off.

***

If anything had changed about their relationship after that coffee, then Jiyong couldn’t really figure out what it was. Something  _ had _ though, he’s very certain of it. Some days Youngbae will show up with a drink in hand and his sketchbook ready, and other times he’d walk slowly up the stairs to see that Youngbae’d taken his seat by the window and he has to pout and whine and badger him until he can sit down. Still other times, Jiyong is certain that Youngbae is watching him, carefully and gently, as though he were the only thing in the room.

It’s a short couple of weeks later when Youngbae sits down across from him with what smells like a mint hot chocolate and a grin.

“You look pleased with yourself.” Jiyong says lightly, trying not to smile but failing horribly.

Youngbae doesn’t stop grinning, and Jiyong feels butterflies erupt in his stomach. 

“I’ve gotten us tickets.” He says, calmly, confidently. Jiyong doesn’t respond, so Youngbae leans forward. “You know, you wanted to go to the Nutcracker? Well, I’ve got tickets. We’re going later tonight.” He says, and Jiyong blinks a couple of times, before a smile lights up his face. 

“Yeah, alright.” He says, and Youngbae smiles at him, and that’s everything he’s ever wanted.


End file.
